From Father to Son
by The Masked Otaku
Summary: SEQUEL to 'Alternative End'. A week has passed since the ending of the Cell Games. With a new era of peace the Z-warriors are getting back to their daily lives. However, the return of a threat from the recent past proves that there is one last battle to be fought before this epic saga can be concluded. Everyone will learn that not all wars are fought on the battlefield.
1. Day 01: The Return

A/N: **Please read my story "**_**Alternative End**_**" if you have not already done so.** This is an AU fic and "_Alternative End"_ sets the background. "_From Father to Son"_ is a story request I received from XOXOSerenityXOXO. It was my first fan request and after reading the prompt she provided, I decided to take it on. A quick note for those who have read my other stories: due to popular requests I am no longer inserting Japanese words like I've done in the past. Especially after playing Assassins Creed, I understood where many were coming from in that it can be quite vexing at times. In the future I may add a –san ending to people's names providing the appropriate context but that won't be in this story. If you have any questions or comments, please PM me or leave them in a review - I always enjoy hearing from people. If you like this story and/or my writing style please check out some of my other works. Enjoy!

**Day 01: The Return**

_A week had passed since Trunks left to return to his timeline after the defeat of Cell. With the creature destroyed and the Androids no longer a threat, a new age of peace was just beginning for the Z-warriors. It was a type of peace that had not existed since before Raditz's arrival on Earth. Therefore, this new era was long overdue. _

…_But fate can sometimes be tricky… _

"Gohan." Chi-Chi knocked on the open door to her son's room.

…_and it had one more surprise for everyone, with the potential to change everything._

"Hmm?" He acknowledged taking the time to pry his eyes away from the thick textbook he had started earlier that morning. Not surprisingly, he was already halfway through the reading material. It was yet another book to add to the collection that piled on his desk from the previous few days, in addition to several finished assignments.

His mother handed him a glass of water. "I thought you might be thirsty."

"Oooh yeah, I'm parched." Replied Gohan with a smile as he took a big chug from the glass.

Noticing the incredible amount of finished work that filled her son's desk, along with what he had already completed since that morning alone, she made a suggestion. "Gohan, why don't you take a break?"

"Huh?" His mother even mentioning the word seemed out of character, but then again, ever since his fight with Cell her attitude towards his studying had been a little bit more relaxed. She was still focused on making certain he was a top-notch student, but he was beginning to see a shift in how she handled it. "Are you sure?" He continued.

Looking over some of his papers, Chi-Chi was already quite impressed with the progress he was making. "You've been working non-stop for several hours. I think a break might do you some good."

"In that case I think I'll take a nap." He yawned as he bookmarked his page.

His mother smiled. "OK but I'll be preparing lunch soon." She took the now empty glass from him and left.

Gohan plopped onto his bed and quickly fell asleep as he basked in the midmorning light.

An hour had passed before he was woken by the calls of his mother. "Gohan, lunch is ready."

He opened his eyes, sat up, and yawned. "I must have needed that." He told himself. "I'm still a bit worn out." He stretched, pulling his elbows behind his back before a sharp pain in his chest made him stop. "Ahhh… pulled a muscle." He muttered. "I gotta watch how I stretch."

"Gohan?" Chi-Chi called out for him again.

"Coming." He answered back, getting out of bed. He made his way to the kitchen where he joined his parents, already seated at the table.

"Smells good Chi-Chi." Goku complimented the family began to eat.

"Yes! Thank you mom."

"You're welcome. Do you have enough?" She asked her son.

"Yes." He replied.

"Chi-Chi, could I get some more?" Goku requested. He already had two plates worth before him but he was quite famished.

His wife turned to him and handed out more food from a bowl in the middle of the table. "Goku, you never have enough." She laughed as the other two joined in.

"Hahahaha-oooh." Gohan felt the sharp pain in his chest again.

"Are you ok son?" His father asked.

"Yeah, I think I just pulled a muscle." Gohan answered.

"Do you think it might be from being hunched over that desk?" Chi-Chi wondered. "Sometimes you become so involved with a book you would forget to sit up straight."

Realizing the opportunity before him, Goku took action. "Yeah, that must be it. Say why doesn't he get out of his room for a bit and come with me to catch some fish in the river." As Chi-Chi turned back toward her son, Goku gave him a quick wink. His father was trying to save him from another afternoon of being cooped up inside.

With his mouth full of food he was unable to verbally respond but he followed his father's lead and nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Hmmm…" Chi-Chi contemplated. "Well, I guess getting some fresh air might help."

"All right!" Goku cheered but his wife cut his celebrations short. "Except you can't be gone all day. I want Gohan to get a least a little bit more studying done before tonight."

It was an understandable request. "Don't worry mom. I'll make sure to come back early."

With that, the family ate the rest of their meal before the father and son pair grabbed their fishing gear and prepared to set off.

"Now don't forget." Chi-Chi called after them as they made their way outside. "Don't be too long."

"OK mom!" Gohan replied.

"Hey Gohan." Goku said, drawing his son's attention. "I'll race ya." Without providing time for an answer, he flew off towards the river. "Hey no fair!" Gohan shouted back, laughing, as he flew off to catch up with his father.

"Those two." Chi-Chi smiled as she shook her head and watched them fade into the distance.

Within a matter of moments Goku landed at his favorite fishing spot, quickly followed by his son.

"No… fair." Gohan struggled to catch his breath. "You… cheated."

Goku let out a devilish grin. "Hehe. I couldn't help. But at least we were able to get you out of house."

"Ah…" Gohan was about to form an argument but realized his father was right. "This is true... Thanks dad." He smiled.

"Hey, you've been working really hard this past week to get caught up on everything. You deserve a bit of a break." Goku replied as he baited his fishing hook and cast a line.

"It is a nice day to relax and enjoy the outdoors." Gohan agreed as he did the same with his fishing line.

The two sat on the edge of a mound overlooking the calm river. The clear sky allowed them to sunbathe as they inhaled the fresh country air and listened to the quiet. They fished for a good 30 minutes without any luck, although they were more focused on simply enjoying the day. And they were both thinking the same thing. "This certainly was the life."

Finally, Gohan felt a pull on his line.

"Ooh, I think you got nibble." Goku remarked.

Gohan placed a firm grip of his fishing rod and pulled to test if the fish had bitten. He felt an immediate tug back and quickly started to reel it in.

"This is a big one." Gohan panted as he fought the fish. However, after several more cranks he slowly began to lose his fight. "Ah, it's… getting away from me."

Goku noticed there was some pain to his son's voice. "Hey, are you OK Gohan?"

"Yea… I'm just… losing… this fish." Gohan's struggle increased as his breathing became erratic and he started to sweat.

Something was wrong, but before he could say anything more, Gohan let go of his fishing rod (letting it fall into the water) and clung at his chest.

"Gohan!?" Goku shouted as he grabbed his son, preventing from him from falling into the river as well. "Gohan what's wrong?"

"M-My chest…" The demi-saiyan responded through painful, deep breathes. "It feels like… It feels like… it's on fire… It hurts."

He could feel his son's ki start to diminish as his anguish grew. This was serious. They needed help. Without further hesitation, he put two fingers to his head and they were instantly teleported back home.

Chi-Chi gasped, dropping the plate she was holding causing it to crash on the hardwood floor. She was startled from the sudden appearance. "Goku!" She shrieked, ready to scold him for scaring her like that. Then she noticed her son in his arms and her tone changed. "Goku, what happened?!"

"I don't know." He replied as he laid Gohan on the sofa.

The two hovered over their son while he continued to clutch at his chest, screaming in agony. "It hurts! It hurts!"

"We were fishing when he started breathing deeply and then he fell over like this. This can't be from a pulled muscle can it?" Goku turned to his wife for answers.

As she watched her son, she had a flashback. She had seen this before, this exact image, with her husband. But it couldn't be the same thing…. could it? Her mind raced as she tried to find an alternative explanation, but she couldn't. The symptoms were consistent with what she feared, causing her to face the realization as to what was happening. "No." She finally answered before making a dash to the medicine cabinet in their bathroom. "It's his heart!"

"What?!" Goku wanted to make sure he was hearing her correctly.

"The heart virus!" She yelled back as she frantically began to search for the vial of medicine that was used to cure her husband. "You had the same symptoms when Yamcha brought you here. It's the heart virus, I'm sure of it."

Goku looked back down at his son. Was it true? Was Gohan now infected with the virus that had almost killed him a few weeks earlier?

"Ah, found it!" Chi-Chi declared as she rushed back to her son. Goku moved out of the way in order to give her some room.

"Gohan, here take some of this." She tried saying in a calm, yet shaky voice. Tilting her son's head up, she opened the vial and put it toward his mouth…

…but nothing came out. It was empty!

"WHAT!?" She screamed as she shook the bottle. A very small droplet formed but that was it. "NO! It's gone! It's all gone!" Then she remembered that Yamcha had suggested that they both take some when Goku was sick, as a preventative caution. He must have taken the rest of it after her. She dropped the vial and quickly became frantic. "Goku, what are we going to do? Trunks told you that this medicine hasn't been created yet and he's not here to tell us how to make it or even to get more for us."

Goku didn't answer as he tried to think of something. This wasn't looking good. He knew the odds were against him, but he picked up the phone to call Bulma.

_ring… ring… ring_

"Come on." He grew increasingly impatient with each ring and began to search for Bulma's ki thinking teleportation might be the easier.

Before locating her, he heard a voice on the other end. "Hello?"

"Bulma!" He shouted into the receiver.

"Oh hi Gok-" She was quickly cut off.

"Bulma listen, I need to know if Trunks gave you any of the heart medicine he gave me."

"The heart medicine? No, he only mentioned giving you some. Why?" She quickly contemplated why he was asking these questions and assumed the worst. "Do you think it's back? Are you're getting sick again?"

"No, not me. It's Gohan. He fell over while we were fishing, clutching at his chest. Chi-Chi thinks it's the same virus."

"Gohan?" Bulma gasped.

Trying to think of his next plan of action, Goku stammered through his words. "I-I have to go… I'm going to take him to see Dende." He immediately hung up the phone and made his way back to his son.

"Let me come with you." Chi-Chi begged as her husband picked Gohan up in his arms. Leaving his wife alone at the house would only make her a nervous wreck. He nodded in agreement and she held on to him. Within an instant, the family was transported to the Lookout where Dende was assisting Mr. Popo with his gardening while Piccolo meditated nearby. Immediately, Gohan's cries filled the once calm sanctuary, violently catching everyone's attention.

"Goku, what's happened?" Dende exclaimed as he dropped his watering can and ran over to them. He was quickly followed by Piccolo. "What's wrong with Gohan?" The older Namekian added.

"He fell over like this while we were fishing. Chi-Chi thinks it's the heart virus. The one I was infected with." Goku continued to stammer, anxiety in his voice high. "Please Dende, you have to help him. We are out of the medicine Trunks gave us."

While Dende began his healing ritual Piccolo looked on as his pupil lay there, clutching at his heart. He remembered seeing Goku in the same state during his battle with Android #19.

Gohan's cries continued as Dende put more and more effort into his healing powers. Several moments went by and nothing seemed to change. The young Namekian was overcome with the resistance in Gohan's body. He was utilizing all of his power but something was still wrong. A minute later he broke from healing, almost falling backwards from exhaustion. "I'm… I'm sorry. My powers can't cure him." He said through deep breaths.

"What? Why not?" Chi-Chi screamed. Things were escalating so quickly, pushing her closer to the point of hysterics.

"Something is attacking Gohan from inside. It's mostly likely the virus you mentioned. It's doing damage to his heart, which I able to repair, but I'm not able to get rid of the virus itself." Dende felt guilty for his inability to help but the truth was he just didn't possess the power necessary to completely cure his friend.

"So it will continue to attack him unless we can do something." Piccolo noted.

In less than a few minutes things had gone from bad to worse. Chi-Chi began to lose control of herself. "Goku." She grabbed onto his shirt. "Goku, can't we use the dragonballs to help him?"

Painfully, Goku shook his head. "We used the dragonballs recently to wish back everyone killed by Cell."

"What about the Namekian Dragonballs?" Mr. Popo spoke up. Everyone turned towards him. "If the Earth Dragonball could help Gohan, the Namekian Dragonballs should be able to do the same. And with Goku's technique he could transport there in no time."

"Yeah, that's it!" Dende shouted. "And the Namekian people can even help find them, if they don't already have them in their village."

"It's worth a shot." Goku responded optimistically. "I'll need to get the Dragon Radar from Bulma, first." He turned towards Chi-Chi. "After that, you stay at Capsule Corp. with Gohan. Bulma and her dad should be able to take care of him while I'm gone."

"Wait." Piccolo stepped forward. "You're not going alone Goku. We're coming too."

"Huh?" Goku faced back towards his old rival.

"You'll need all the help you can get searching for the dragonballs on a planet like Namek. Besides, those who may not know you will be more likely to trust a Namekian. Dende and I will join you."

The younger Namekian wholeheartedly agreed with this plan. Knowing he would be leaving right then he faced Mr. Popo. "Mr. Popo, you'll have to stand watch over the Lookout while we're gone."

"I understand. Be safe Dende." His friend replied.

Without time to argue over it, Goku accepted the help offered to him. "All right. Let's hurry then!" Goku picked up his son as the others joined by his side.

* * *

Bulma held the phone to her ear while her father stood close by to listen. "And you took the last of it?" She asked

"Y-Yes. I had some after Chi-Chi. We thought it might prevent us from getting sick as well. I-I'm sorry Bulma, I had no idea it would come back." Yamcha stuttered. He was the first person she called to explain what was happening and she needed to verify that the medicine was indeed gone.

"None of us could have anticipated this Yamcha."

_-Schwoon-_

The group appeared before Bulma and her father.

"They're here! I have to go." She hung up the phone and sprung from her seat.

"I was just talking with Yamcha. He confirmed that the medicine Trunks gave you was all gone. Was Dende able to help?"

Earth's guardian stepped from behind Piccolo. "No, something is attacking Gohan from the inside. I can repair any injury done by the virus, or whatever is affecting him, but as soon as I stop the damage starts again."

"We actually came for the Dragon Radar. Since we are out of medicine the only other option we can think of right now is to use the power of the dragonballs." Goku explained.

"Didn't you use them recently?" Asked Bulma.

"That's why Piccolo and Dende are also here with me. I can transport us to Namek and we can search out their dragonballs. You mentioned before that the Dragon Radar worked in finding them on the old Namek. It might take a few days but hopefully we can wish for Gohan to be cured. In the mean time we thought you might be able to help care for him with Chi-Chi."

"Dad, what can we do?" Bulma turned to her father. He had been in the room when Goku first called and thus knew as much as his daughter about the situation.

Dr. Briefs considered what action to take. "Hmmm… There is an infirmary unit in this building. Bulma, you take them there and I will get my assistants."

"Right." She nodded. "Follow me everyone."

Bulma lead them down an array of long corridors until she finally arrived a large door with a window and a red cross above the entrance. After hitting a button on the wall nearby, the door slide sideways to reveal an elaborate medical room. There was a bed on a conveyer belt attached to an MRI machine, surrounded by various other devices. It was impressive to say the least but more importantly it helped to reassure Goku and Chi-Chi that they made the right decision in bringing Gohan here rather than trying to have Chi-Chi care for him alone while they were gone.

"Place him on the bed here." She motioned.

Goku gently laid down his son. As he stood up he reminded Bulma of the Dragon Radar. "Can we please borrow it for Namek?"

"Yes, of course! It's in my room. I'll be back in a few minutes." His friend said as she ran off.

Shortly after she left Dr. Briefs came into the room. "Well I have my three assistants here." He moved out of the way to reveal three large robots behind him. They scurried into the room towards Gohan.

"Please give them some space." He continued as he approached the wall close to the bed. After punching a few numbers in the control panel, several slots in the ceiling opened up to reveal more equipment and contraptions. The robots used this equipment to take a variety of measurements. One of the contraptions removed Gohan's shirt while the robots stuck a few sensors to his chest and arms, hooking them up to monitoring devices.

"W-What is all this?" Chi-Chi inquired.

"This is just your standard medical equipment. Right now my robots are checking his pulse, blood pressure, etc and sticking sensors on him that feed into the machine beside him to monitor his vitals." Dr. Briefs explained.

Seeing her son hooked up to all the surrounding machines bothered Chi-Chi. It seemed so unnatural. Yet, at the same time, there was a strange sense of comfort. Her son was clearly in good hands. And whereas a normal medical set up and procedure like this might take about 15-20 minutes, Dr. Briefs' assistants had it done in 5 minutes. As one robot began to draw blood that would be used for testing, she looked away and buried her face in Goku's chest, trying her best to hold herself together. Shortly after averting her eyes from the scene, she noticed that her son's cries began to fade until there was only the sound of the machines working. She quickly turned back around. "What's happening?!"

"They've just given your son a sedation drug to ease his pain." Dr. Briefs explained while the one robot handed him the vial of Gohan's blood. Then, almost as soon as it began, the contraptions ascended back into the ceiling, leaving only the monitoring devices. The robots filed outside almost running into Bulma as they hurried to the lab several doors away.

"Whoa." The blue-haired woman exclaimed as she dodged her father's assistants. She then made her way inside. "I got it. Here it is." She said, handing the device over to Goku.

"Thank you Bulma."

"We'll do what we can here. You be safe out there." She remarked.

However, before Goku could respond an ominous voice boomed throughout the entire room, catching everyone's attention. "Yo, Goku!"

"King Kai!" Goku shouted back. "I was just about to contact you. I need you to direct me to the new Namek again."

"That's what I wanted to talk with you about." Back on his small planet, King Kai grimaced as he tried to explain the news he had. "Earlier today I sensed something was wrong. When I checked in on you, your son had fallen ill and you were at the Lookout, as you call it, with him. I over heard your plans about Namek and got in touch with the elder Moori so that he could anticipate your arrival."

"Ah, Moori knows we're coming? He will be able to help us get a head start on our search." Dende said excitedly.

"Unfortunately, he won't." King Kai broke their celebrations.

"What?" Dende asked confused.

"I'm sorry to tell you this Goku, but he informed me that the Namekians have recently used their dragonballs to replace damage caused by a drought."

Back on Earth everyone in the room let out a collective gasp. "Y-You mean…" Goku struggled.

"That their dragonballs won't be active again for several months." King Kai answered.

"Goku, based on what Trunks said about the virus we don't have that much time." Bulma informed him.

"Damn it!" He cursed. Literally every plan they had was falling through as quickly as they formed. "Thank you for telling me King Kai. We'll figure something else out."

"Best of luck Goku." The god wished in all sincerity as he disconnected his telepathic link.

"Goku, what other options do we have?" Piccolo questioned.

"I DON'T KNOW!" The Saiyan snapped back. Truth-be-told he had run out of ideas. There was nothing left. Chi-Chi began to cry once more.

"Ugghhh, if I may." Dr. Briefs spoke up. "Chi-Chi, you mentioned to Bulma that you still have the vial the medicine came in."

"Yes." She said through her tears. "But there was nothing left."

"Was it kept sealed during all this time?" He inquired further.

"… Yes." She replied after some thought.

"Well then if you still have the vial, and it was sealed, there will most likely be a residual amount left. We can use that to create a chemical analysis on the substance." Dr. Briefs stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Of course." Bulma joined in snapping her fingers. "We can use the data from the analysis to replicate the medicine. Chi-Chi, where is the vial now?"

Her friend began to think out loud. "I grabbed it from the medicine cabinet, tried to give Gohan some, but found that it was empty so then…" She stared up at them wide-eyed. "Then I dropped it on the floor. It must be by the couch. I have to go find it." She started to run towards the door without evening thinking about how far away her home was.

"Chi-Chi, wait!" Goku halted her. "I'll go. You stay here."

"Oh Goku you have to find it!" She pleaded.

He tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I will, don't worry. You stay here and help Bulma." Once again, he put two fingers on his head and began to concentrate. Nobody was at their house, which meant he couldn't teleport directly to there. Kame House was the closest place he knew of. He quickly found Yamcha's ki and teleported.

Sensing her friend was on the verge of a nervous breakdown Bulma tried to redirect the woman's attention. "Chi-Chi, you were exposed to the virus as well, even though you never had symptoms. Yamcha told me that you both took the medicine as a preventative measure, correct?"

Chi-Chi nodded.

"Then we might be able to learn something from you're blood as well if we can get a sample."

"In the mean time I can run tests on Gohan's blood to confirm that it is the heart virus and run further tests to understand what type of virus it is." Dr. Briefs added.

Dende decided to offer a suggestion of help. "Bulma, I know this virus causes damage to the heart and, while I can't rid Gohan's body of it, I can use my powers to continuously heal him so as to prevent too much damage."

"That could buy us more time and help in the long run." Dr. Briefs suggested. Things were starting to come together.

Bulma agreed. As Dende got a chair to be seated next to his friend she turned to Piccolo.

"I know there isn't much I can do." He beat her to the question she was about to ask. "For now I'll just stand outside the door incase Dende needs anything."

She nodded. "Come on Chi-Chi. You can best help by letting me draw some blood. You can come right back after we're finished." Bulma said as she guided her out of the room.

Everyone shuffled out of the door with their assigned tasks as Dende began a continuous healing practice.

As Piccolo leaned against the wall in the hallway, Dr. Briefs, Chi-Chi, and Bulma traveled to a nearby room with a multitude of lab equipment. "Sit down here." Bulma motioned towards a chair by a desk. While she prepared what was needed her father went into a connected room to run his tests leaving the two women alone.

"Where's Trunks and Vegeta?" Chi-Chi asked while her friend tied an elastic band around her upper arm. "Oh, my mother took Trunks out for the day and she somehow managed to get Vegeta to go along. I swear he amazes me at times. Make a fist." Bulma instructed before applying antiseptic.

Chi-Chi sighed as she looked away. Everything that had recently occurred made her contemplative on life and it's meaning. "Don't ever take anything for granted Bulma. It can change so fast."

The blue-haired woman looked up before focusing back on her work. She stuck the needle in Chi-Chi's arm and undid the elastic band.

"I don't plan to." She responded gently as the vial started to fill with blood. "But Chi-Chi you have to have faith that Gohan will pull through this. He's a fighter."

Once again, her friend started to weep. "I know… And all I ever wanted him to be was a scholar… but… but…"

"But fate had other plans didn't it." Bulma finished her sentence for her and Chi-Chi nodded in agreement. Bulma withdrew the needle and placed a bandage on the wound. Setting the vial of blood aside in a holder and taking offer her latex gloves, she held Chi-Chi's hands in her own. "Chi-Chi the things your son has accomplished at his age are to be commended. While the other's have continued to fight for Earth Gohan has done helped them and at the same time become a great scholar."

She smiled upon hearing these words.

Bulma continued. "He's experienced many challenges in his young life but he's always faced them head on with honor and integrity. You have to understand that this is simply another battle he faces. It has nothing to do with him being a martial artist or him being a scholar, viruses don't differentiate between the two. He still relies on our support. Even if he's under sedation he knows we're here. You have to encourage him to fight against this infection and believe he will tackle this obstacle."

Chi-Chi took a deep breath. What her friend was saying was right. This wasn't something her son got from being a fighter. It was something that just occurred. Still, it made her think how fast everything was happening.

"It's just he's been growing up so fast. And now with this…" She took another deep breath. "This morning he was happy and healthy. Now, he's suffering from something that almost killed Goku. Everything can change in such a short time."

"It can." Bulma agreed. "And that's why you're right, that we can't take anything for granted. But at the same time you have to fight for the things you love and have determination power you through tough times like these. He's going to make it Chi-Chi."

Chi-Chi embraced her friend in a hug. "Thank you, Bulma… Thank you."

* * *

_-Schwoon-_

"Goku?!" Yamcha exclaimed. "Bulma just called me a few min-" He was cut short. The Saiyan immediately jetted off the island towards his house leaving a confused, and worried friend. But he had no time to waste. He had to find that vial in order to help Gohan as quickly as possible.

After flying at amazing speeds across the ocean it wasn't too long before he was back home. Goku rushed inside and began his search. He positioned himself where Chi-Chi was when she had the medicine. "She said she dropped it on the floor so…" He thought aloud, looking around the area. He flung over the coffee table. Nothing. Next he turned over the couch. The vial was right there.

"Found it!" He shouted. After picking it up he put two fingers to his head and teleported one more time.

_-Schwoon-_

"Goku, you're back!" Bulma greeted, prying her eyes away from the microscope she was working with.

"I found the vial." Goku responded as he handed it over to her.

"Great! Have a seat right there and I will be right back." She went into the adjacent room, the one with the complex laboratory equipment, where her father was already hard at work. She gave him the vial and went back to Goku. Sighing, she approached the desk. She had asked him to sit in the chair in order to draw blood but with his fear of needles it wasn't going to be easy. "Now Goku, since you've already had virus we want to get a sample of your blood."

"OK." Goku replied nonchalantly.

"Just so you're aware, this has to be done with a needle." She commented as she started to set out her equipment on the desk.

Goku didn't say anything but rather rolled up his sleeve and rested his arm next to her.

"You're… You're not scared?"

"Right now I'm more scared with losing my son. I know there is only so much I can do at this point but I want to make sure I do everything I possibly can." He then looked toward the room Gohan was in and focused on his ki while Bulma drew his blood.

"How's he doing?" He finally asked as she started to wrap up her procedure.

"He's hanging in there Goku. Dende is with him right now helping to continuously heal any damage done to his heart. Of course we are still waiting on the results from his blood to confirm that it is indeed the heart virus."

"How long will that take?"

"It will be a few more hours. And the analysis on both yours and Chi-Chi's blood will provide us even more information, but those might not be available until tomorrow." Bulma quickly left to give her father the vial of Goku's blood and then sat back down with her old friend.

"You drew blood from Chi-Chi?"

"Yes, she might have been exposed to the virus and we know she took some of the medicine as a preventative measure. Yamcha did the same thing and is actually on his way here with Krillin to get some of his blood tested."

"What can I do in the meantime?" Goku asked.

"Comfort Chi-Chi. She's scared Goku, like I know you are. Help each other through this time."

"… Where is she now?"

Bulma let out a small smile. "Right where you'd expect her to be."

Knowing what she meant Goku got up and headed out of the room, but before turning into the hallway he looked back. "Thank you Bulma, for everything." He left and proceeded to the room Gohan was in. He was greeted with the sight of Chi-Chi looking on as Dende stood over their son. The soft glow emitted from his hands illuminated that section room in a peaceful glow. As he walked over to his wife he listened to the sounds of the dull buzz of Dende's healing powers and the constant beep of the heart monitor attached to Gohan. He sat in the chair next to Chi-Chi and put his arm around her.

Several hours went by before Yamcha eventually arrived with Krillin. Since both had exposure to Goku that day they provided their blood for analysis against that of Gohan's. They then joined in consoling the family during this hard time.

By the end of the night Bulma had called everyone in a room to deliver what they were all expecting.

"We have the results of Gohan's blood. It's what we feared, he has the heart virus."


	2. Day 02: Puzzles of Epidemiology

A/N: In this chapter I utilize some scientific jargon and explanations for the characteristics of the virus in order to make it seem more realistic. I realize that not everyone is a biologist so I will try my best to explain everything in laymen's terms. That being said, if you have any questions please PM me or put it in a review and I will do my best to respond and/or address it in the next chapter. For those who are scientists, please understand that there is a science fiction aspect to this. Not everything will be 100% accurate and it's rather simplified overall. That being said I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please follow, favorite, and review.

**Day 02: Puzzles of Epidemiology**

The morning sun shined through the windows of Capsule Corp, illuminating the guest bedroom occupied by the husband and wife pair. With the light hitting her face, Chi-Chi yawned as she slowly woke up, turned around, and gazed at the beautiful sunrise. It was a perfect, picturesque scene before her; the clear sky giving way to the sun as it brought light to the sprawling city…

"Wait!" She jumped up. "City?" And then she remembered where she was and what had occurred the day before – reality set back in. The last thing she remembered was watching over Gohan, with Goku by her side.

"I must have fallen asleep." She thought. "But how did I get in this room?" She looked down at Goku who was snoring softly beside her. "He must have brought me here." Chi-Chi had to admit that she got a rather good nights rest despite the chaos of yesterday. However, the danger wasn't over. Leaping out of bed, she quickly made her way down the halls in order to be back by her son's side.

Bulma took a sip from her coffee as she looked over the papers her father had just handed her. "Hmmm…" She contemplated aloud as she read and processed the information. "This is good. We are getting somewhere with this." After continuing to flip through the report her expression grew puzzled. "But it is strange how this virus is acting."

"I know. It's so familiar yet, at the same time, I've never seen anything like it." Dr. Briefs replied as he continued to enter data into the computer.

Bulma took another sip from her cup, emptying its contents. "Darn, out already. Well I could use some time to stretch my legs. Do you want me to get you some more coffee as well?"

"Yes, thank you."

The blue-haired woman smiled. In his response, her father hadn't even looked back at her. He was so preoccupied with figuring out this illness that he had become totally entrenched in his work. "Such is the life of a scientist." She thought to herself as she made her way out of the lab.

She had not traveled far down the hall when she ran into her old friend. "Chi-Chi, you're up already?"

"How's Gohan doing?" Chi-Chi asked, almost in a panic.

"His health status hasn't changed since last night. But we've found some more information about the virus that might help us in combating it."

"What? What did you find?"

"It's rather technical. Why don't we talk about it over breakfast?" Bulma tried to lead her friend in the direction towards the kitchen but Chi-Chi backed away.

"No, I want to be with Gohan."

"Chi-Chi, you need to eat. You haven't had anything since you've been here." Bulma responded sympathetically.

Adamant in her choice, Chi-Chi shook her head in refusal. "I don't care, I want to see him."

Bulma sighed. "How about we compromise. We'll drop by Gohan's room to see him but then you have to come with me to get some food."

Her friend remained silent as she thought hard about the offer.

"He's being well taken care of. Right now the best way you can help him is by getting your strength back up and answering some questions about what happened when Goku had the virus. We're trying to look at every little detail in order to gain more information about it so we can successfully fight it and prevent further infection."

Chi-Chi took a moment to think before finally nodding in agreement.

The two women made their way to the infirmary where they saw Dende just as they left him; standing over Gohan, emitting a healing aura.

"He has to be so tired." Chi-Chi commented.

"Namekians are used to going long periods of time without sleep." Piccolo remarked. His eyes remained closed as he stood in the same position he had been in since when he first got there. "That being said, he's had to take a few breaks throughout the night. I'm sure you're aware that he won't be able to keep this up for too many more days."

"I know. I'm already working on a plan." Bulma replied.

"You are?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Yes, but I will only tell you while we eat." Bulma motioned for them to continue on.

Chi-Chi pressed her hand against the window in the door, taking one last look at her son. She felt so powerless. The only thing keeping her going was trust in the care being provided to him. "OK." She said turning toward away. "Let's go."

The pair made their way to the kitchen where Bulma motioned for Chi-Chi to sit down at a table while she prepared some food. With her modern appliances all she had to do was punch in a few numbers into an apparatus and wait for a hot meal to be prepared. By the time she poured both of them some coffee, everything was done and she was serving up a much-needed breakfast. "Here you go." She laid the plate in front of Chi-Chi while sitting on the opposite side of her.

Hesitantly, Chi-Chi took a small bite. She felt guilty for not being near her son but she knew she would never hear the end of it if she continued not to eat. Of course, as soon as she took her first bite she realized how hungry she was and began to scarf down her meal.

"Ah Chi-Chi, you need to slow down there." Goku commented as he entered the kitchen.

Knowing he was going to be in need of some nourishment as well, Bulma stood right back up. "Have a seat Goku, I'll get you something to eat."

The Saiyan sat next to his wife while Bulma repeated her previous action of getting coffee and instantly preparing a meal. In no time she was joining her friends back at the table. "I'm actually glad you're up Goku." She said handing him his food and seating herself again. "We've been able to find out a little bit more about the virus."

"Do you know how to cure it?" Chi-Chi asked.

Bulma shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. Not yet at least. The good news, however, is that my dad was able to extract a residual amount of the medicine from the vial you had. That sample is currently being run through a gamut of tests in order to figure out what it's made of so we can recreate it."

"So it was helpful?" Goku inquired. He wanted to make sure he understood everything correctly.

"Yes, very helpful." Bulma confirmed. "The blood samples everyone provided have also been a tremendous help in figuring out more about the virus. So far we've learned that it's what's called an adenovirus. Usually these types of viruses just cause mild symptoms like the cold or the flu. Occasionally they can lead to myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart, but it's rare. It's even more rare for them to be deadly, which makes this specific virus species extremely unusual. Also, adenoviruses normally don't survive long outside of a host but are transmitted easily from person to person. In this case, however, the opposite seems true. We're still running some tests but the fact that nobody has gotten sick from this except for Gohan, weeks after Goku had it, provides evidence for this conclusion. While this information creates some problems in tracking down how Gohan received it, it helps us to understand how it interacts with the environment. On another positive note, we found no presence of the virus in either of your blood samples. This adds to my theory that it's not easily transmissible. The only downside is that we were unable to learn anything about the medicine from either of your blood samples. It was something that has already fully passed through your system."

In hearing this, Goku and Chi-Chi understood they had to take the good with the bad. They also knew that, in the very least, Dr. Briefs was able to utilize the vial of medicine they had saved.

"There is a perplexing aspect to all of this." Bulma sat back thinking aloud.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Asked Chi-Chi.

"Well, when we took a sample of Gohan's blood yesterday we were able to identify the virus under a high powered microscope. Yet this morning, looking at the same blood sample, we can't find any trace of it."

"What does that mean?" Goku questioned.

"I don't know. My dad should be drawing more blood as we speak so that we can see what is happening to virus in Gohan's body. Additionally, we will have some more tests prepared today to help understand how it interacts with the heart. In the mean time I wanted to ask you both a few questions. Had Gohan displayed any symptoms prior to yesterday?"

"No, he's seemed perfectly healthy." Chi-Chi answered.

"And when he fought Cell he was at the top of his form. Based on my experience, if he had the heart virus he wouldn't have been able to fight." Goku added.

"Hmmm…" Bulma thought aloud once again. "Goku, when you had the virus the others mentioned that it seemed to hit you pretty fast. Is this correct?"

He took a second to think. "I-I guess so. It wasn't too long into my fight with the androids that I began to feel pain in my chest."

"And they also mentioned that it seemed to quickly escalate when you transformed into a Super Saiyan."

Goku nodded in response.

"So based on those facts I agree with you Goku. I don't think Gohan was infected with the virus during his fight with Cell; otherwise the physical activity and his transformations would have triggered a response. He must have gotten it within this past week. Tell me has he trained or transformed into a Super Saiyan since the fight?"

"No, he's mostly been in his room studying." Chi-Chi quickly responded.

Goku agreed. "He's actually been taking it rather easy. The only real physical activity he's done was when we flew to the river and went fishing."

"Hmm, that provides a bigger time table of when he could have gotten the virus since it seems to be triggered by physical activity. At least we can be pretty certain that he got infected some time after the fight but before yesterday." Bulma sipped her new cup of coffee trying to think of what she wanted to ask next but before she could continue Dr. Briefs came bursting into the room. "Bulma! You're going to want to see this!"

Without hesitation she jumped up and quickly followed her father back to the lab with Goku and Chi-Chi close behind her.

Inside the lab Dr. Briefs had hooked up monitor to the microscope he had been working with. "I figured out why the sample of Gohan's blood that we took yesterday had no trace of the virus this morning. Look at this image."

Bulma focused her attention on the monitor. Displayed was a blood sample consisting of red blood cells, white blood cells, and small green dots.

Dr. Briefs continued. "Those green dots are markers indicating the virus. Now watch closely."

Everyone looked and as time passed some of the green dots began to vanish, followed by some more, and some more. "It's his white blood cells. They're destroying the virus at a rather rapid rate in comparison to what's normal." Bulma observed.

"Exactly!" Her father exclaimed. "This is a sample of blood I took from Gohan just after you left. When I first analyzed the blood it contained many more viruses than you see now. His immune system is destroying it at an incredible rate."

"This doesn't make any sense." Bulma was completely perplexed. "How come his immune system isn't taking care of it in his heart? How come Goku died from it in another timeline? Based on what we are seeing here, Gohan should no longer have it. In fact this virus shouldn't even exist!" Just when they were getting a better grasp on the virus, this happens.

"I've called West City Hospital and told them I needed their digital electo-magnetic resonance machine as soon as possible."

"Good thinking." Bulma replied. "We need to see what going on in his heart."

"It should be here in a few hours. In the mean time I have some more tests I'm going to run." Dr. Briefs hastily left for the adjacent laboratory room.

With a mixture of confusion and anxiety Chi-Chi finally spoke up. "Bulma, what's going on? What does this mean? What's a digital e-electra…"

"Digital electro-magnetic resonance machine." Bulma cut her off while she started to pace. "It's a piece of medical equipment that only major hospitals have. With it we can essentially get an image of anything we want in the body, such as an organ like the heart, and even go down to extremely microscopic levels, all in real time. It's a highly sophisticated machine."

"OK, but what does all this mean?" Goku asked referring to the monitor they had just been look at.

Bulma stopped her pacing and tried her best to explain the biological implications of the recent findings. "Well, as you just heard us say, Gohan's immune system is attacking the virus at a rapid rate. It explains why we couldn't find a trace of the virus this morning in the blood sample we took from him yesterday. His white blood cells had destroyed them all. There are a few things about this that don't make any sense to us yet. The first is if Gohan's immune system is destroying the virus this fast in his blood then why hasn't it gotten rid of the virus in his heart? Of course we know this virus is deadly, but based on this new information that fact doesn't make any sense. That's why we are getting the machine my dad talked about - so we can get a better picture of how the virus is interacting with his heart. Second, a virus like this shouldn't exist in the first place. From an evolutionary perspective it doesn't make any sense. For one thing, it only attacked Goku in future timeline and nobody else. In this timeline it's affected Gohan as well, but nobody otherwise. We believe it can live outside the body for a very long time, which is a nice adaptation, but a virus this susceptible to the immune system is at a great disadvantage. Additionally, it doesn't seem to be easily transmissible, otherwise Gohan would have gotten it much earlier and Future Gohan would also have gotten it. In nature this thing should have easily died out. It's like we're missing a big piece of the puzzle here."

"What can we do?" Goku asked with a strain in his voice. Bulma realized she had inadvertently caused more worry to her friends.

"Let's go back to the kitchen. Maybe we can narrow down when Gohan got the virus."

"Hmph." Vegeta scoffed as he fiddled around with the contents of the pantry. Despite living on Earth for several years now, he still had no idea what half of the food items were. "Damnit! Is there nothing here?" He slammed the pantry door, making its top hinge break off.

"VEGETA!" Bulma yelled from nearby.

"WHAT?!" He snapped back.

"You can't go around breaking things!" She entered the kitchen with Goku and Chi-Chi behind her.

Noticing his old rival, Vegeta shifted his focus away from food. "Kakkarot! What are you doing here?"

Rubbing her temple out of frustration, Bulma responded for him. "Vegeta, I told you yesterday after you came home late. Gohan is sick with the heart virus. We're taking care of him here while we try to figure out a cure. It's what I've been doing all day yesterday and today."

"What?" Vegeta's tone changed. He had been so exhausted the previous night that everything said to him went in one ear and out the other. "The same ailment you had?"

Goku nodded.

"Why didn't you give him some of the medicine Trunks left you?"

"There's nothing left. We're all out." Goku replied.

Rather than try and reeducate him on everything, Bulma changed the subject. "Where's Trunks?"

Vegeta scoffed once again. "Now who's forgetting things? He went back to the future. You were there."

Bulma's headache grew. "Not _that_ Trunks. _Our_ Trunks. The baby."

"O-Oh…" Vegeta stammered. "He's with you're mother."

"Can you tell her to continue watching after him? This thing is more complicated than we first thought. I may have to sleep down here again tonight."

"Fine." He muttered as he started to walk away. But before leaving he took another look at Goku. Behind his rival's pensive expression he could sense the fear felt over his sick son. Likewise, Goku could read past Vegeta's scowl and tell that there was some trace of empathy regarding the situation.

The Saiyan Prince left. While it's true he felt sorry for what was happening he also felt incredibly uneasy. Would the virus spread?

In order to make use of the time until the machine was delivered, Bulma continued to question Goku and Chi-Chi about the previous week. Unfortunately, despite the pages of notes she was taking, nothing helped to indicate when and how Gohan got the disease. At some point during the interview Krillin and Yamcha had woken up, making their way to the kitchen where they found their friends. After offering moral support to the family, and getting caught up on everything that had happened, Bulma decided to question them about the day Goku became ill with the virus. But there was very little they could tell her that she didn't already know. Still, it was possible that her notes might come in handy in the future. Just as she finished her questioning, Dr. Briefs came into the room. "Bulma, it's arrived!"

"OK, I'll be right there." She responded, getting up from her seat. Dr. Briefs dashed back down the hall to prepare everything for the tests that needed to be run.

"You can all wait in the large room just down this way." Bulma pointed.

"No, we want to join you." Chi-Chi argued.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea. The tests that we are planning could potentially take all day."

But Chi-Chi insisted. "I don't care. I want to be with Gohan."

Goku looked at Bulma before facing his wife. "Chi-Chi, there is nothing we can do right now but let them work."

"B-But…" She started to protest.

"Gohan is being taken care of. And they can work faster without any distractions."

Torn between what she wanted and what made logical sense, Chi-Chi eventually took the advice of her husband.

"I'll update you as soon as I can." Bulma reassured her.

Chi-Chi sniffed back a tear and nodded in agreement. Bulma then followed in pursuit of her father.

The group made their way to a comfortable lounge area nearby where they were soon greeted by two Namekians.

"Dende, Piccolo." Krillin greeted with a wave.

"Krillin, Yamcha. How are you two?" Dende ran up to them in greetings.

"Doing OK. How has Gohan been? Are there any developments?" Krillin had still not even seen his sick young friend.

"No." Dende shook his head solemnly. "I've been able to stop any damage with my healing powers but I can't cure him of the virus. It continues to ail him."

Sensing the guilt that resonated within his friend, Krillin put a hand on the young Namekian's shoulder. "Hey, you've done well. Bulma and Dr. Briefs will be able to figure something out."

Dende smiled back up at him. Knowing Bulma, he was optimistic as well.

"So are you taking a break right now Dende? I've heard you've been working really hard." Yamcha asked.

"Oh, ugh, no. I mean I'm really not that tired, but Dr. Briefs didn't want me to continue my healing practice while they ran their tests. They said it could disrupt any data they might obtain. When I protested they assured me that I had already done more than enough and that when they were finished, I could continue."

Goku let out a smile. "I understand. You have done quite a bit Dende. We can't thank you enough for you're help. Let them work and you can get some rest in the mean time."

Dende smiled in return and agreed.

As dusk drew several hours later, Chi-Chi found herself pacing the floor. "What's taking so long?"

"Chi-Chi, they said it could be awhile. I'm sure they are working as fast as they can." Goku said trying to sooth her, but it wasn't helping. His wife continued to pace until she decided to take action.

"I'm going to see how much longer they are going to take it." She stated as she took a few steps toward the hall.

"You're only going to distract them." Piccolo noted, stopping Chi-Chi in her tracks.

Spinning around, she glared at the Namekian. Before she could launch into a tirade on him Krillin intervened. "He's right Chi-Chi. We have to give Bulma and her dad some room here."

"But how much longer do I have to wait." She continued to fret.

"Just the time it takes you to walk from here to his room." A voice announced behind her.

Chi-Chi spun around again. "B-Bulma."

The blue-haired woman was wearing a surgical mask.

"Eh, what's with the mask Bulma?" Yamcha asked.

"We've learned a bit more about the virus, and even though it's probably not necessary, we're starting to take extra precautions." She handed everyone a mask. "Please put these on and follow me."

As they made their way down the hall Krillin questioned Bulma on the extra precautions she had mentioned. "Should be worried?"

"The odds are you don't need this, but after what we found we just want to be extra safe. I will explain more inside." Bulma replied as they reached their destination. After she opened the door everyone stared in amazement at the new large piece of equipment that took up space in the center of the room. It looked similar to an MRI but a much more extravagant. Computers were mounted on each side and specialty lasers lined the inner parts of the machine. A complex series of lights and buttons tied everything together to make it look state-of-the-art.

Gohan lay in the center of the machine, green lights illuminating his body.

Chi-Chi gasped.

Perceptive to her friend's concern, Bulma reassured her. "Don't worry Chi-Chi it's completely non-invasive. Even if Gohan wasn't under sedation, he wouldn't have felt a thing."

She made her way to one of the computers where, displayed on the screen, was an outline of Gohan's body. His muscles and organs were pictured as semi-translucent masses. The only contrasting color was from various green dots throughout parts of his body with his beating heart glowing a bright green.

"I-Is that…?" Yamcha choked.

Bulma nodded. "The virus."

Using a file on the computer, Dr. Briefs placed a still image in the corner of the screen. "This is from an MRI we took yesterday. You can't faintly see some of the virus surrounding his heart." Focusing back on the real-time image generated by the new machine, Dr. Briefs continued. "This machine is supposed to give us a more detailed picture by essentially blowing up the size of the virus. As we can see here, some of the virus is carried into the rest of the body by the circulatory system. However, the majority, as expected, is located in the heart. Let me change some settings and zoom in." After a few seconds of typing, the lasers in the machine changed position and the light was now concentrated on Gohan's chest. A zoomed in picture of his heart was shown and the green dots became more distinguishable - as opposed to one giant glowing blob. "This gives us a better picture as to what's going on in the heart right now." Everyone remained fascinated, as they watched Gohan's heart beat in real-time.

Bulma mentioned the differences in the MRI image from yesterday to what they were seeing now. "Compared to yesterdays results, the virus seems to be growing at a rate slightly higher than expected. Dad can bring up the white blood cells so I can show them concentration in the heart?"

After a few key strokes a large amount of purple dots appeared. However, despite their number, they were dwarfed in comparison to the number of green dots. "What we see here explains why his immune system hasn't gotten rid of the virus." She pointed out the comparison to the group. "There are simply not enough white blood cells to combat the virus at the rate it's growing. Even when we first started several hours ago there was a noticeable difference."

Bulma turned to her father again. "Zoom in on an infected cell."

Adjusting a knob, Dr. Briefs zoomed the image onto a virus infecting a cell and pointed at the screen. "Now here we can see one of the viruses at work. This is attached to one of Gohan's heart cells. You see these long strands here? They are actually coming from the virus. What we've observed is that as soon as a virus latches on to a cell these strands extract itself from the virus and spread a great length over the surface of the cell. Normally, many viruses will attach to a single cell simply because it will be attracted to a protein it's surface. However, in this case these strands prevent other viruses from attaching. They bump off and search for a cell that hasn't been infected. This helps explain why it's replicating so fast as well as why we can see a bit more than expected in Gohan's blood. Now let me zoom in even more." Dr. Briefs turned the knob taking the image to a molecular level. "As I mentioned the virus is attracted to a protein on the surface of the heart cell. This protein receptor, as we call it, is unique to the cells of the heart and is normally used in other interactions with the body. What's interesting about the protein receptor here, which the virus is attached to, is that it doesn't seem typical of what's recorded in the scientific literature."

Trying to absorb this information Goku finally raised a question everyone was thinking. "So, what does this all mean?"

"We can't quite say for sure yet. It's possible that Gohan has a rare type of protein. If he has it, a small portion of the population might have it as well, meaning anyone of you." Bulma answered. "This is why I asked you all to wear masks. What we discussed was that we would like to use this machine to look for this receptor in each of you. Krillin, you're closest to Gohan's height, which means we won't have to adjust as many settings. We would like you to go first."

"Oh, o-of course." Krillin agreed. He still didn't quite grasp everything that Bulma and her dad had said but whatever he could do to help Gohan, he would do it.

Bulma turned toward the rest of the group. "I'm sorry to ask this again, but would you all mind waiting outside? This will take some additional time." As she said this Dr. Briefs' assistants began to lift Gohan back onto his bed and sterilize the platform of the machine.

"Bulma, I'm sorry to bother you." Dende spoke up.

"Hmm?" She turned toward him.

"I was just wondering if I could I stay to continue healing Gohan?"

Bulma looked concerned. "Do you feel that you have strength Dende? We were going to give him some medicine which may help in slowing down the virus."

The small Namekian nodded vigorously. "Yes! I was able to regain all of my strength these past few hours. I want to do everything I can to help."

"Based on height he would also be the next one to be scanned." Dr. Briefs mentioned.

"OK." Bulma agreed. "But if you get too tired let us know."

Dende nodded, quickly made his way over to Gohan's side, and began his healing process once again.

Everyone else made their way back to lounge area while Bulma and Dr. Briefs began their procedure.

"OK Krillin, you will hear some buzzing sounds, this is normal." His friend said as she initiated the sequence.

"O-OK." He replied. A second later the platform he was laying on slowly slid into the machine. He watched in amazement as the laser lights began to maneuver around him and quickly concentrate on his chest. "Eh?" He sat up slightly, which prompted Bulma to address him.

"Krillin, you need to lie still."

"Oh. Right. Sorry." He apologized, getting back to a resting position. The lights maneuvered once more to concentrate on his chest.

From their computers, Bulma and Dr. Briefs were able to quickly get a high quality image of the surface of the Krillin's heart cells utilizing the previous parameters set up for Gohan. Dr. Briefs brought up the image of the protein receptor they were looking for.

Several minutes went by as Bulma went from one cell to another, scanning the surfaces of each. "So far I'm not coming up with anything. These receptors should be highly apparent by now, correct?"

Her father nodded. "Yes, so far all I'm seeing are normal heart protein receptors. The abnormal one's we witnessed in Gohan don't seem to be here. I think it's safe to say that Krillin doesn't have them."

Even though he was right, something about what her father said struck a cord with her. "Normal heart protein receptors." She muttered to herself as she continued to compare Gohan's heart cells to Krillin's. Then she noticed that the only major difference was that one protein. Almost everything else matched up. Bulma made note of this and Dr. Briefs brought up video footage of the scanning they did for Gohan's heart cells. They analyzed the two side by side. Just from the brief overview Dr. Briefs was able to make a simple observation confirming what his daughter was thinking. "Most of their receptors seem identical, in terms of structure at least." A few minutes went by before he made another conclusion. "And there is one receptor they both have, but Gohan seems to have about 50% less of." He brought up an image of the receptor in question.

"50%..." Bulma continued to think aloud.

And then it struck her.

"50%!" She jumped up, startling everyone in the room. "Dad, quickly set the parameters for Goku's height."

"But we were going to do Dende next." Dr. Briefs barely got his words out before Bulma responded.

"We need to do Goku next!" She ran out into the hall without further explanation.

While waiting in the lounge area to hear of news, Yamcha decided to inquire about Dende's health and stamina. "Do you think he's doing all right?"

"He seems to be doing fine." Piccolo replied, hesitantly. "But he has his limits. He won't be able to carry this on forever."

Just when Goku was about to make a comment he heard his name being yelled at the end of the hall.

"GOKUUUU!" Bulma shouted as she ran towards them. "Goku, we need you in the machine. Now!"

"W-What's wrong?" He asked as he quickly followed her back towards the room. The others followed. Obviously something noteworthy had happened.

"I don't have time to explain. Just come with me." Bulma ordered.

As they ran back into the infirmary, Bulma darted back into her chair in front of her computer. "Quickly, lay down!"

Krillin had just gotten off the platform and Goku was prompt to take his place.

"Hold still!" She continued to shout commands and she typed vigorously away. No doubt she was on to something. The platform slide into the machine once again as the lasers focused on Goku's heart.

With everybody silent, wondering what was going on, Bulma quickly scanned the surface of his heart cells and compared them to Gohan's and Krillin's. As he watched, Dr. Briefs was soon to catch on as to what his daughter was doing. "The proteins!" He remarked.

"The one you had mentioned that Gohan has 50% less of than Krillin, Goku has none of." Bulma commented.

"Then that means…"

Bulma finished her father's sentence. "It's a virus that affects Saiyans!" She then gasped, realizing the full scale of this. While the virus was hard to transmit, it held resilience in the environment outside the body. That meant traces of it could potentially be throughout Capsule Corp.

"We need to get Vegeta and Trunks into quarantine now!"


	3. Day 03: Exploring All Avenues

A/N: I find myself still using Bulma a lot throughout this story, although it's almost impossible not to. I will try to incorporate other characters as I can. Chapters may also be shorter from here on out since the first two helped set the scene. For those who watch _Dragonball Z Abridged_ on YouTube, look out for a TeamFourStar reference in this one. As always please favorite and review. And don't forget to check out my other works. Enjoy!

**Day 03: Exploring All Avenues**

"Damnit woman!" Vegeta screamed into the small, portable video device that served as his only connection to the world outside the cramped room he was in. "Why am I still in here?!"

Last night he, along with his son, had been hastily ordered into a spare bedroom in the basement of Capsule Corp. After his initial noncompliance with the robots that had been sent to escort him to said room, Bulma approached him in a white suit that covered her entire body, making her look like she was on a space mission. She informed him that the virus Gohan was infected with targeted Saiyans. Thus, for safety reasons, he and Trunks were to be quarantined until it was determined that not a single trace of the virus existed outside of the infirmary. With great reluctance, both he and his son were stripped naked and washed as they entered their new residence. New clothes were supplied and blood was drawn from each of them to check for the virus. Throughout the entire ordeal Trunks cried, resulting in neither of them getting much sleep. Needless to say he was in a very agitated state and all he could do was wait.

"Vegeta, you have to calm down." Bulma tried her best to get him to relax, although she knew there was nothing relaxing about any of this. "The virus seems to be triggered by stress. We didn't find any trace of it in either of your blood samples but we want to be extra cautious. You have to be patient with us and remain calm."

"And what about him?" Vegeta motioned toward his son who was on the bed crying.

"I told you to pick him up. Make him feel comforted."

The Saiyan grimaced. "That's your job woman."

"VEGETA!" Bulma screamed before settling herself down. "Just try and be… fatherly… for once."

"Hmph." He sneered, crossing his arms.

Bulma decided to take a different approach. "He might quiet down if you hold him."

He glared at her while contemplating his options. Eventually he gave in and picked up his son, trying his best to be soothing. Almost immediately, Trunks started to settle down.

"See." Bulma pointed out. "That wasn't so hard."

"So, how much longer do we have to be in here?" Vegeta asked through clenched teeth.

"It should only be another hour. Our machine is still scanning all of Capsule Corp in order to guarantee that there is no trace of the virus. Fortunately, nothing has showed up yet, which is a good sign. We've already moved Gohan to a more bio-secure room and sterilized the room he was in. As soon as we get confirmation that the virus doesn't exist anywhere else in the building, we will run more elaborate tests on you and Trunks to make sure that neither one of you has contracted the virus. After that you will be free to do as you please."

"Fine." Vegeta commented as he shut off the device. Cradling his son, he continued to feel uneasy about the situation. His previous concerns about the virus having the potential to infect others had proven to be legitimate.

What was next?

"Dende, are you sure you don't want to wear one of these suits." Bulma asked, as she finished up with some tasks in Gohan's new room. The Namekian had opted out of any personal protective equipment because of the interference with his healing abilities. Instead, he agreed to be washed down and scanned every time he left the room, which was almost never.

"I'm fine." He replied, although his voice held strain. It was obvious he was starting to get tired.

Without anything else she could do, Bulma stepped out of the room into a small, sealed space between the infirmary and the hallway. A light scanned her body.

"No virus detected." An automated voice announced as the door to the hallway opened. Bulma disrobed from her suit and stepped out, the door closing behind her. She then made her way to the nearby lab to join her father.

"Any updates?" She asked.

Dr. Briefs was handling some test tubes in a large airtight container with arm sleeves. "Well, as you know, last night I was able to confirm that this virus is resilient outside the body but normal disinfectant techniques work well against it, so even if we did find any it would be easy to destroy."

"Yup, and…"

"And, … that's pretty much all we have so far." He said apologetically.

"What about the analysis on the medicine?" Bulma inquired.

"It's still processing. It seems to be a rather complex mixture of chemicals. Last I checked it was about 80% complete."

This was good news. "So odds are it will be close to done by the end of today. That's great! Have we already prepared th-" She was cut off as Dr. Briefs finished her sentence.

"Prepared the solutions for what we know the medicine contains? Yes. And we have plenty of chemicals and equipment to make anything we don't have."

"I guess that's one of the benefits of having your own laboratory at your disposal." She became contemplative as she tried to think of the next course of action. "So right now all we can do is wait for the scanning of Capsule Corp to be done... That is unless you need any help in here. What are you doing exactly?"

"Oh no I'm fine. This is just an experiment I'm trying out. I didn't mention it because it's still in an early stage and the odds of success are low. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up about anything." Dr. Briefs tried to distract his daughter with something else. "Why don't you go prepare the electro-magnetic resonance machine for Vegeta and Trunks? As soon as the scanning process is complete we will need to analyze them for the virus."

Bulma gave him a perturbed look. She knew he was shooing her off.

Sighing Dr. Briefs did his best to reassure her. "If anything comes from this I will let you know. Now go." He gently motioned.

Despite her curiosity, Bulma knew there was no use arguing. She obliged and left him to continue his work.

By the time she had gotten the electro-magnetic resonance machine set up with the correct parameters, a floating device had entered the room. "Scanning complete." It said in a slow robotic voice.

"Results?" Bulma prompted.

A few lights flickered while the scanner collected its data. "Virus detected on clothing of Son Goku before being incinerated. No virus detected anywhere else. Capsule Corp is clean."

"Was the virus found on Goku's clothing surrounded by any type of fluid, such as blood?"

After a few more seconds of processing, the machine answered. "Virus was surrounded by dried saliva."

"Thank you. Standby."

The device remained floating by her side.

"Hmmm." Bulma reflected on the news she just heard. "That's to be expected I guess. When he first came here, Goku was holding Gohan close to his chest. Some saliva most likely found it's way onto Goku's shirt while Gohan was screaming in pain." Leaning back in her chair, she expanded on this thought. "That could also be how Gohan got the virus in the first place. Perhaps Goku coughed on something and then two weeks later Gohan happened to touch that surface, followed by touching his face, where it could gain entry through the mouth or nasal passage. While the virus would have a hard time making it to the salivary glands because of the body's immune system, it's not impossible. This could also mean that there are more traces of it within their house."

In order to prevent any reinfection, she would have to find a way to get the scanner and some cleaning units out there. However, first thing was first.

Bulma quickly got to her feet and gathered a few items from a nearby cabinet. "This should be good." She told herself as she walked out the door, the floating scanner following her. Making her way down some stairs and through some more corridors she finally reached her destination. After putting on a surgical mask she knocked on the door. Although, she immediately regretted the decision as she heard her son cry in response.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Vegeta screamed.

"Why didn't I just walk in?" Bulma asked herself, grabbing her head. Vegeta swung open the door. Before he could say anything she admitted her wrongdoing. "That was my mistake. I will get him. Just please put this on." She forced a surgical mask into his hands as she made her way into the room toward her infant son.

"And how long do I have to wear this?!" Vegeta continued to shout.

Bulma placed a smaller mask on Trunks while she tried her best to sooth him. "Vegeta, I promise this is almost over. We just have to go up to the machine I was talking to you about and scan the two of you. It's the only way we can be 100% positive that neither of you have the virus. After that you are free to go."

The Saiyan Prince grumbled as he did what he was told and put the mask on his face. As they left, the floating scanner quickly examined the father in son pair to confirm no traces of the virus were on their clothing. After determining they were clean, the scanner then entered the room and began scanning every surface just as an extra precaution.

By the time the family had gotten back up the infirmary, Bulma had been able to calm her son back down to a peaceful slumber. "Lay on the platform there." She motioned as she softly laid Trunks on the bed that had recently held Gohan. Vegeta grumbled again as he obeyed. He hated taking orders, but if this meant he could finally be free then so be it.

"OK, now what?" He asked, agitation still in his voice.

"Just hold still." Bulma replied as she sat in front of the computer. "This should only take a minute." After pressing a few buttons the platform slowly slid into the cylindrical machine and Vegeta was illuminated with green light. Toggling with a few settings, it wasn't long before Bulma was able to get a clear picture of what she needed. "OK, now for this last bit." She muttered to herself as she typed away. A program took a 3-D scan of Vegeta's heart while she zoomed in to look at his cells on a molecular level. Within a few seconds a message appeared on the screen that confirmed what she was seeing with his cells. "No foreign agents found."

She sighed again, relieved. "OK Vegeta, you're done." She announced as she ejected the platform and went over to grab her son. Vegeta sat up and gave her a suspicious look. "That's it?" He questioned.

"That's it." Bulma confirmed as she placed a still sleeping Trunks on the platform. If he could stay asleep it would make her job a lot easier. "You have no trace of the virus. Go and get some rest. Oh, and you don't need to wear this mask anymore." She said, taking it off for him.

Vegeta gave her a long stare before eventually leaving without a word. He was still uncomfortable about the whole thing situation and she knew it.

Bulma went back to her computer and once again prompted the platform to slide into the machine. The same procedure was followed for Trunks that had been followed for Vegeta. And, just like his father, Trunks was found to be virus-free.

"Thank goodness." She breathed an air of relief.

With her son still asleep, she carried him all the way back to his nursery and gently laid him down in his crib. "That was scary Trunks." She whispered as she kissed him on the forehead.

Chi-Chi was right; you can't take anything for granted.

By the time Bulma made her way back to the laboratory her floating scanner device was waiting for her. "No trace of the virus detected." It stated referring to the scan it just completed in the room Vegeta and Trunks has been quarantined in.

"Thank you. Power down." Bulma ordered, prompting the device to return to it's docking station a few rooms away. At least she was able to find comfort in the fact that the virus had not spread and that it was localized solely to the room Gohan was now it. She turned to her father. "Neither Vegeta nor Trunks have the virus and the rest of Capsule Corp is clean."

"That's good." Dr. Briefs replied, half listening and half focusing on his work.

She gave him a perturbed look. "Are you still not going to tell me what you are working on?"

"Nope." He replied quickly. Although he could tell this only frustrated his daughter further. He followed up with a more detailed response. "Even if I did tell you, there is nothing you could do at the moment. This stage is a one-man job and simply takes time."

"What do you want me to do then?" She asked, a bit annoyed.

"Actually, if you could get me some more of Goku's blood, that would be helpful."

"Eh? Goku's blood?"

"Yes, a pint if it's possible."

"A whole pint!?" Bulma exclaimed. What on earth did her father need with a pint of Goku's blood?

"Yes." Dr. Brief said as-matter-of-factly.

"But why do-" She stopped herself. Her father had already decided not to share with her what his experiment was about so there was no point in pressing further. "OK, fine." She sighed. Hopefully Goku would still be receptive to the idea of being stuck with a needle.

"B-Bleugghhh." Chi-Chi vomited into the toilet.

"Chi-Chi!" Goku rushed into the bathroom. "Chi-Chi are you OK?" He knelt beside his wife as she reached a hand up and pressed the flusher.

"I think so, I'm just not feeling well this morning." She replied, wiping her mouth with a tissue.

Goku looked concern. "You barely got any sleep last night and you haven't been eating that well. Perhaps you're putting too much stress on your body. Why don't you lay down and relax?"

"NO. I have to be there for Gohan."

"But right now there is nothing we can do." Goku said as he helped his wife to her feet with the intention of getting her back to the bed for rest. "Besides, it's not going to help if you're sick."

"I'm not sick Goku I jus-… oh no." She fell back in front of the toilet and emptied the contents of her stomach once again. "Bleuughhhh."

Goku sighed. The stress his wife was putting herself through was making her physically ill. "At least let me get you something to drink to help settle your stomach."

Chi-Chi nodded as she flushed the toilet.

Grabbing the new green shirt and denim pants provided to him after his old clothes had been incinerated for safety purposes, Goku made his way out of their room towards the kitchen.

"What am I going to do?" He thought to himself. His son was sick with a virus that had almost killed him and his wife was worrying herself to the point of literal illness. What was next?

As he walked into the kitchen he saw Krillin and Yamcha picking at some pastries on the counter and conversing.

"Yea, when I was walking back with these I ran into Vegeta. I guess Bulma cleared him but I could tell he looked tired. When I tried to ask him what happened he simply looked down at the basket I was carrying, grabbed a half a dozen muffins and walked off without saying a word." Before Yamcha could respond, Krillin noticed his old friend. "Oh, hey Goku." He greeted. "Would you like a muffin? Bulma's mom just baked them."

"No thank you." The Saiyan responded wearily. His friends gave him a suspicious look. It wasn't like him to turn down food.

"What's wrong Goku?" Yamcha asked.

As he scoured the fridge for something to get for his ailing wife he replied back. "It's Chi-Chi. She was just throwing up. I think the stress of all of this if finally getting to her and it's making her ill."

"Chi-Chi's sick!" A voice appeared from behind them.

"Hmm?" They all turned around to see Bulma in the doorway.

"Goku, you said Chi-Chi is sick?"

"Well she was throwing up just now but I think it's been all the stress. I was actually just looking for something to help ease her stomach."

"Bottom right drawer there is a soda." Bulma quickly said as she thought about what she should do.

Goku grabbed the soda and shut the fridge.

"OK. Goku, go back and tell her to stay in bed. I will be right there." She then ran back down the hall she had just come from.

The three friends gave each other a shrug wondering what the urgency was.

Goku soon returned to his room and gave Chi-Chi her drink, which helped to ease her nausea. Not a minute had gone by before Bulma rushed into the room.

"Chi-Chi, do you have any chest pain?" She asked as she started to sort out her instruments.

"N-No." Her friend stammered. "Why?"

"OK, it's probably nothing, but I just want to make sure." Bulma proceeded to draw a small sample of blood. She then utilized her other tools to conduct a quick analysis. Goku and Chi-Chi looked on without saying a word and within a minute Bulma had what she was looking for. "Whew, OK so you don't have the heart virus."

Goku was confused. "But yesterday you said it only targets Saiyans. How would Chi-Chi have it?"

"I did say that. And I also did a scan of all of Capsule Corp. However, the thing about viruses is that they can mutate to target other hosts and even develop new symptoms. It was a one in a million shot that a virus has escaped the scanner and mutated enough to infect Chi-Chi but I had to be sure. Her getting sick like this just seemed a bit too coincidental. That being said, the results show that there are no foreign bodies affecting her although she does have a high cortisol level which is indicative of stress." She focused her attention solely on Chi-Chi. "Goku's right, this is probably due to the stress you've been experiencing. You should spend the day to get some rest."

"B-But Gohan." Chi-Chi protested.

"There is still nothing you can do at the moment. Even I'm just waiting around as the analysis on the medicine is processed and my dad works on some experiment he won't tell me about." She then remembered why she had gone to the kitchen in the first place. "Speaking of which, Goku, he requested that we take some more of your blood."

"OK." Goku responded. He was still in a highly agreeable state. Anything to help his son.

"Chi-Chi, you stay here and get some rest."

Her friend decided not to put up a fight anymore. She knew it would get her nowhere.

Bulma stood up and collected her tools. "Follow me Goku."

As the two made their way down the hall they passed the kitchen where Krillin and Yamcha were still enjoying the muffins baked by Mrs. Briefs. Bulma stopped to ask them a favor. "Hey could you guys keep an eye on Chi-Chi for us? She's supposed to be resting and I don't want her to stress herself out anymore than she already is."

Krillin and Yamcha looked at each other nervously. They knew Chi-Chi could be a bit abrasive and were therefore a little bit frightened by her.

"Well I don't think Chi-Chi would like us telling her what to do and she can be a bit frightening at times…" Yamcha's voice trailed off a Bulma gave him a cold stare. She wasn't asking him to take care of Chi-Chi, she was telling him. He quickly changed his tone. "I mean, sure. Haha. It's no problem."

Satisfied with that response, Bulma turned around ready to leave. But before she could, Krillin stopped her. "Oh hey Bulma. Could you also get us some more muffins?"

She glared at him. "What do you think there is just some magic muffin button that makes muffins appear? I don't have time to deal with your silly requests. Come on Goku." Then hastily left, her old friend trailing behind her.

Krillin turned to Yamcha. "And here I thought Chi-Chi was rather harsh."

Back in the lab, Bulma tied a latex band around Goku's arm. "Now my dad has asked that I draw a large amount of blood from you."

"O-OK." Goku replied, not really knowing what to expect.

"So just lean back and squeeze on this ball every few seconds. If you start to feel dizzy just let me know."

Goku did as instructed and leaned back in the reclining chair. Bulma inserted the needle and began to draw blood.

Some time passed before Goku eventually broke the silence. "Is it still going?"

"Yup. You're about halfway through."

"What does your dad need with all of my blood anyway?" He was genuinely curious.

Bulma crossed her arms in frustration. "He actually won't tell me yet. He said he's working on something but doesn't want to get our hopes up."

"What does that mean?"

"Heck if I know."

More time passed and the bag of blood was reaching its full point. At the same time Goku began to feel like the room was spinning. Bulma saw him having trouble keeping his head up. "Hey. Are you feeling all right?" She asked.

"Yea, I'm… fine." He replied, not wanted to admit his dizzy state. If Dr. Briefs needed his blood then he was going to give him everything he could. "I'm just… a little… sleepy."

"Well the bag just finished filling up." Bulma extracted the needle and applied a bandage to Goku's arm. "Hold that there." She then turned around to detach the tube from the bag of blood. As she finished up she heard a _thunk_ sound behind her. Spinning around to face Goku she saw him passed out, his arm hanging off the side.

"Oh Goku." She sighed as she applied a more secure bandage to his arm and placed him in a comfortable position. He was supposed to tell her if he was feeling dizzy to prevent him from passing out. Knowing him, however, he pushed through any resistance his body had in order to get the job done, just like always.

Leaving him to rest, she took the blood to her father in the nearby lab. "Here it is."

"Great, that will come in handy. Place it in the bio-fridge for me." Dr. Briefs thanked her.

Bulma placed the bag in the fridge nearby and turned back toward her father. "So are you going to tell me what all this is about?"

"I guess that's only fair. I am trying to isolate the antibodies produced by Goku in response to the virus. If I'm successful, then I may be able to use them to develop a vaccine. However, it's a very tricky science, especially with the timeframe we have. But if I can do it, and it's looking promising so far, then we will have two potential cures for the virus."

"So, that's why you asked me to take more blood, so we could get more antibodies."

"Mmhmmm." Dr. Briefs nodded.

"And you said things are looking promising?"

"Yup." He replied as he took his hands out of the container. "But now all we can do is wait because this test I've just finished prepping for needs several hours to incubate." Taking off his jacket and washing his hands he left the lab with his daughter. "Why don't we grab a late lunch?"

Several hours past before Dr. Briefs was able to return to his work and conduct more tests. During this time Goku and Chi-Chi both got the rest they deserved. Dende, however, continued to power though at his own request.

Throughout the evening Dr. Briefs and Bulma were able to work on isolating the anti-bodies needed to help produce the vaccine. Against her father's wishes, Bulma had informed everyone what they were attempting to do but told them there was no guarantee.

It wasn't until 9pm when they had their answer.

"We were able to isolate the antibodies! We can now work on a vaccine in conjuncture with the medicine." Bulma announced to everyone as they all cheered for the happy news. Things were finally looking up.

Chemical analysis on the medicine: 95% complete.

One step forward.


End file.
